Cereal Technology Training Pilot Plant

Cereal Technology Training Pilot Plant

This plant consists of a number of laboratories equipped with apparatuses and instruments usable for training of students pertaining scientific and technical aspects of cereals (grains) and their products. Following are concise notes on these laboratories.

Milling and Grains Quality Tests Laboratory

It contains grain cleaning and grading apparatuses used for:-

- Calculations of percentage impurities.

- Test weight of samples.

- Kernel size distribution.

- Sample divider for separation of samples in order to obtain representative samples for chemical analysis.

- A number of Laboratory mills; some small ones used for small-scale experiments (100-200 gm.), and big mills (Buhler) which can handle 100-2000 gm and more. Flour got from these mills is used for different quality tests either in applied teaching of courses, field training, higher education activities and researches in the department.  

Rheology Laboratory

It consists of a Farinograph, Extensograph, and an Amylograph. These are used in studying flour properties and its quality characteristics. They are used for identification of flour type, strength of dough, water absorbability and dough activity during fermentation, consequently identifying and fixing of appropriate and suitable conditions of fermentation...

The Amylograph is useful in determining the quantity of starch suspension and activity of amylase enzyme in flour.

These equipments are used in teaching students studying principles of cereals and cereal technology courses, teaching advanced cereal chemistry and technology post-graduates courses, as well as their use in running researches.

Baking Laboratory

It is an equipped lab. for production of different types of bread, cakes, biscuits, pasta, cookies and breakfast cereals. It is used in practical teaching of the above mentioned courses or in researches and higher studies. It is well facilitated with small and big dough making bowls, fermentation cabinets, and electrical ovens, in addition to the molders of English and Arabic breads (pan bread and pita bread), pasta processing machines, bread slicing and loaf volume measuring instruments and machines.

Cereal Research Laboratory

It is used for some quality tests of flour properties such as determination of wet and dry gluten percentages, as well as the sedimentation test of flour, and undertaking of chemical analyses (pH, moisture content of grains and their products and protein percentage).